Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Braised Pork with Caramelized Leeks and Apple Cider

I successfully braised pulled pork! Braising Pork with Caramelized Leeks and Apple Cider using the linked recipe and selecting the proper cut of pork i.e. something fatty like pork butt results in succulent, tender falling apart pork. It easily could been shredded more but I was happy to leave it in the form it fell into when I removed the excess fat since the mixed textures appealed to me.

The sauce has a hint of sweetness and is super rich thanks to the deeply caramelized onions and leeks. Seeing how all the liquid I was supposed to cook down was gone when I took off the Dutch Oven's lid my onions and leeks may have over browned but it was easy to fix. I just added some extra apple cider to deglaze the pan and then cooked the mixture down. Nothing tasted burnt so I was golden.

I ate the pork and its sauce over mashed celeriac. The celeriac provided an intense, very vegetable flavor that was a refreshing contrast with the meat. To create the mash I peeled the celeriac, boiled it, drained it reserving some of the water, and then mashed it up with the reserved water, salt, pepper and half and half until the taste and texture suited me.

To make this healthier, I recommend making it one day ahead and letting the sauce chill overnight in the fridge. That way you can remove a lot of the unnecessary fat; mine had spoonfuls that I could scoop off the top. Yuck. I'll probably make this pulled pork, or another variation, again though not just for myself as it is too much rich meat to eat alone.